Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to automatic tracking of distinctive features of users operating electronic equipment.
Laptops with integrated eye-trackers are known. Unfortunately, existing solutions are comparatively bulky, and therefore the laptop design becomes relatively thick, i.e., in closed/inactive mode, the laptop has a rather high profile. Naturally, this is undesired because portable devices, such as laptops, in general should be as compact and slim as possible. Nevertheless, this bulkiness can sometimes be an advantage. Because the optical remote sensing systems of today's eye-trackers at times consume relatively large amounts of power, substantial thermal power dissipation must be available. A larger volume is more capable of dissipating this heat than a smaller volume. Therefore, the trend of each generation of laptop becoming thinner than the previous generation is problematic because the available space for thermal dissipation in the lid of the laptop becomes more and more limited. This places severe constraints on which components that can be used to implement eye-trackers and similar devices.
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0110887 shows an example of a mobile communication terminal with a main body and a foldable display body. A camera is positioned in a hinge unit which connects the display body to the main body. The camera is rotatable around the hinge axis to register images of the user as well as subjects/objects in front of the user. Thus, versatile camera function is attained. However, since the camera is freely rotatable relative to both the main body and the display body it may be complicated to use the camera for many purposes, such as for eye-tracking.
In the light of the above, embodiments of the invention provide a compact and yet thermally and power-efficient portable device that is equipped with an optical remote sensing system for eye/gaze tracking, gesture detection, facial feature tracking, and/or user identification through face or iris recognition or hand gesture detection.